Changeable sign-board.



R. W. CLARK.

, CHANGEABLE SIGN BOARD.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 14. I9l5.

"j 1L, Patented Dec. 12,1916.

RICHIE) W. CLARK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CHANGELE SIGN-BOARD.

t'peciflcatton of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. I2. rare.

Substituted for application Serial No. weaves, tiled September 15, 1913. This application flledl April it, 1915. Serial Hazlett.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD W. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residin at Chicago, inthe county of Cook and tate of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Changeable Sign- Boards, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to sign-boards in which the letters or other characters may be changed to make up signs for announcements and advertising purposes.

The object of the invention, is to provide a sign-board of the above character, that is inexpensive in construction, and in which the letters or other characters are easily arranged to make up various signs and yet will be retained firmly and snugly in position thereby presenting a neat appearance.

The main feature of the invention is the particular manner in which the letters or other characters are constructed, so that each will act as a spring to bind against the surface of the board and thus be securely held in position.

For a clear understanding of the invention, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred emb irnent thereof, and the novel features of t e invention will be distinctly pointed out in the appended claim.

Figure 1 is a front view of a fragmental portion of a sign-board constructed in accordance with my invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a side view illustrating the construction of a letter or other charactergand Fig. 4 is a similar view to Fig. 2, showing the letter not entirel pressed into place.

In the drawings likg characters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings. 1 represents a board, the front face of which is provided with a series of grooves 2. The front surface of the board is preferably covered and the grooves lined with velvet, felt, or similar material, designated by 3. The grooves 52 are of a suitable width to allow for the covering 3, and still leave sufficient space, indicated by 4, for receiving an extension or tongue of the letters or other characters now to be described.

The letters'or other characters, as represented by 5, are constructed of a suitable resilient or springy'material, such as celluloid or sheet metal, and formed integrally with each letter or other character, preferably at its upper edge, is a horizontal extension or tongue 6 for slidably fitting into the groove spaces 4 of the board. The particular feature in the constructioir of the letters resides in making the tongue 6 horizontal and bending the free or lowerend "of the letter rearwardly, so that the letter forms an acute angle with the tongue and is normally on an inclination from the vertical, as best seen in Fig. 3.

In attaching the letters to the board, the tongue 6 is inserted in the groove space 4t until the lower. end of the letter engages the front face of the board. The upper part of the letter is then pressed to force the tongue 6 farther into the groove space. and in this action the tongue can only slide horizontally, therefore the resiliency or springiness of. the letter will securely hold it snugly against the face of the board and thus retain it in position by causing the tongue to bind against the surfaces of the groove space. The covering3 not only gives the board an attractive appearance but also serves to frictionally engage the tongues of the letters in the groove spaces.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim is:

In changeable sign characters adapted to be used with a board having grooves comprising characters, the characters being constructed of springy material, a tongue formed at one end only of each of the charactors and adapted to removably fit into one of said grooves, said tongue being inclined at an acute angle with the character whereby when the tongue is pressed into a groove the springiness of the character will cause it to bind against the surface of the board to retain it in position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD W. CLARK.

Witnesses:

I-IENRY C. LEVERENTZ, WM. 5'. MACKEY. 

